Common Cemetery Symbols﻿Since ancient times, cemetery symbolism has helped people express their sorrow for the deceased and their religious beliefs about death and the afterlife. The use of stone as a material for grave memorials is itself a symbol since stone represents the qualities of firmness and timelessness. Messages depicted on stone will, in theory, be eternal and commemorate the deceased individual's life on earth.Other common symbols used through cemeteries and at Woodlawn Cemetery are hands, broken columns, draped urns, angels, roses and trees. Hands are often depicted doing one of four things. Clasping, praying, pointing or blessing. They can symbolize charity, final farewell and hope of heaven, amoing other things.Broken columns symbolize a life cut short, the eventual ruin of us all, and decay. Often they are used to represent the loss of the head of the family.A draped urn represents sorrow.Angels mean spirituality and they are thought to stand guard over tombs.Roses are used for different things depending on the color. A white rose stands for purity, red stands for earthly love or martyrdom.Trees stand for life. A tree sprouting stands for life everlasting. A tree trunk stands for the brevity of life. Stones shaped like trees stumps usually signify that the deceased was a member of The Woodmen of the World.